The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Defeat by South Korea sends Germany tumbling out
2014 winners Germany in shock group-stage exit... their first since 1938
SOUTH KOREA 2 GERMANY 0
Holders Germany were sensationally dumped out of the World Cup after a late VAR review set South Korea on the way to a 2-0 win in their Group F encounter in Kazan.
Kim Young-gwon thought he had fired the Koreans ahead a minute into added time but the goal was initially disallowed for offside. However, after a VAR review showed Germany’s Toni Kroos got the last touch, the decision was overturned.
Tottenham striker Son Heung-min then rolled the ball into an empty net to turn the screw with German keeper Manuel Neuer stranded upfield to make it 2-0.
The defeat, coupled with Sweden’s win over Mexico, ensured Germany failed to emerge from the group stage for the first time.
Joachim Low’s men, who needed Toni Kroos’ last-gasp free-kick against Sweden on Saturday to preserve their hopes, created only a handful of chances with central defender Mats Hummels having squandered perhaps the best of them three minutes from time.
Low admitted his shock at the reigning champions’ World Cup exit as the four-time champions finished bottom of Group F.
It is the first time the Germans have gone out of the finals in the group stage and left Low fielding questions over his future.
He said at a post-match press conference: “That’s hard to say. Of course, it takes a couple of hours to look into that. I’m shocked, I’m shocked because we didn’t manage to pull it off today.
“Where we go from here, we’ll have to talk about it calmly. It will take me some hours now to come to terms with it. I’m incredibly disappointed by this elimination.”
Germany saw Sweden clinch a 3-0 victory against Mexico in Nizhny Novgorod, meaning a win against South Korea would have been enough to progress.
However, Die Mannschaft were once again far from their best and missed a number of chances.
Kim was not so profligate when he fired home from close range – although he was initially given offside before a VAR review sparked renewed celebrations – and Son completed the job.
Asked about Kim’s strike, which was allowed after Toni Kroos was adjudged to have played the ball backwards, Low said: “The player was in an offside position – that’s what I saw.
“But if the video referees have taken a different decision, then they will probably be right.”
Low and his players will return to Germany today, but with the coach dismissing suggestions that dark times could lie ahead.
He said: “Until quite recently, we have probably been the most consistent, in terms of performance, team in the past 10, 12 years.
“But we now are out and, of course, it’s a case of absolute sadness and disappointment.”
For opposite number Shin Tae-yong, there were mixed feelings with the capture of a scalp only partial compensation for his side’s exit.
Shin, who had given South Korea a 1% chance of victory before the game, said: “I feel great, but at the same time, I feel a little bit empty, so I feel a little ambivalent.
“Yesterday, we said that there was only a 1% chance, so I told my players it was really a last-ditch effort for them and I told them that they had to fight until the very end.
“Germany are the defending champions, they are number one in the Fifa rankings.
“They probably felt they would be able to beat us – because that’s what everybody thought – so I hoped we could use that as a reverse strategy, and that really hit the nail on the head.”